In the following essay, Theoharis examines United States policy toward the Soviet Union in the 1940s, contrasting Roosevelt's ambivalence and largely conciliatory approach with Truman's more rigidly anti-Soviet stance.

Only recently has the question of the origins of the cold war seriously divided American historians, the emergence of a "revisionist" school coinciding with intensive research into primary sources. Yet, revisionists do disagree over whether there existed a discontinuity between President Roosevelt's and President Truman's policies; they disagree in their evaluations of the relative influence of economic and political considerations and in their estimates of the role of key advisers in shaping the decisions and priorities of the two presidents.

This paper will emphasize the tactics and personalities of Roosevelt and Truman, their specific...